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From Kokopelli's to Electric Warriors: The Native American Culture of Music

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Being the owner of a Native American booking and management agency, Native Voices Bkg. & Mngnt., I am particularly pleased that someone has put out such a thoughtful book on our music. Hale Schulman's "From Kokopellis to Electric Warriors" is a wide-ranging work on this specialized market that is an eye-opening treatise for anyone interested in the genre.

It is filled with nuggets of information one could find nowhere else and quite often let's the artists speak for themselves. Being a Sherman Alexie fan, I was delighted to read an interview with him where he describes when he first realized the meaning of a paragraph (a fence for words), which he then extrapolated into the larger context of life on the planet - totally precious stuff I wouldn't have known from any other source. Hale Schulman takes the same approach, writing of specific Native artists, then going into the larger world in which they play. Near the end there is a wonderful "Market Overview" listing retail sales per year, commercial radio stations playing Native music, national awards shows, Native record labels and much more.

This is a good place to learn the "insiders" background on the Native American Music Awards and it's vibrant founder, Ellen Bello, as well as finding listings for major Native festivals and their contact information. And for anyone interested in knowing the how's and why's of the GRAMMY's adding a Native American category at the 2000 Grammy's, you can read the whole "NAMA Proposal to NARAS For A Grammy Category".

I applaud Sandra for her dilegent work and comprehensive writing - may it open the doors for many such works to come!

Sandra Hale Schulman's story on the Native American music scene is not only entirely up to date but written with sheer passion. This author has done her research and has obviously been moved by the Native American musicians and anscestors that she has met. While many Americans have the urge to trace their heritage, Schulman has been inspired by her quest to trace her own. But ancestory or not- this writer has written a newsworthy guideline for anyone who wants to learn more about the Native American Music in today's marketplace.

FROM KOKOPELLIS TO ELECTRIC WARRIORS is a must read for anyone studying Native American history and/or music. Journalist Schulman writes about Native Americans from the tribes as far east as Manhattan to as far west as Hawaii covering musicians, artists and poets including traditional Pow Wows to the NAMMY"S to Slack Key guitar. Enjoy the experience!

L. Shellist

Written by a board member of the Native American Music Association, this book is a tour of the heartfelt culture of Native American music, from the red soil of the reservation all the way to the Grammys. Sandra Hale Schulman conducts this exploration and introduces such Native artists, activists, and performers as Robbie Robertson, Rita Coolidge, Bill Miller, Hank Williams III, and Joey Ramone.

From the Smoky Mountains to the Las Vegas strip to the Everglades, Schulman profiles festivals, award shows and songwriters and proves Native American music is not just for powwows any more.

"From Kokopellis to Electric Warriors" is a great jumping off point for anyone who wants to learn about the evolution of the music, all the way to today's rock 'n roll. Russell Means, R. Carlos Nakai, Tiger Tiger, Blackfire, and Redbone are some of the diverse talents introduced in this entertaining and informative book.

The reader comes away with a better understanding of the complex and competitive world of music as this reference points the way to Native American talent in all its many facets.

Anything on Native Amer-Indian music is worthy since so little has been written on it; however, this book is focused on the contemporary scene, the artists and their backgrounds, and their work in the world today. It was more of a cultural magazine anthology than a serious book on musicology: the music itself, lyrics, rhythms, tunes, and their development and historic spread. Note that this small book is even smaller considering that the text of this book is double-spaced, as in a manuscript, probably to increase the thickness of the edition. Although disappointed in the absence of scholarship, being unable to relate in detail the tradition to today's exploration, the information includes many interesting comments and biographical sketches, and shows how this music has left the dusty museum archives to a living, growing art.